Synopsis

Plot

The episode starts in the Elmore Junior High indoor pool with Coach teaching the students on what to do when someone is drowning. She orders Anton to jump in the pool and tells Gumball to save him. Gumball attempts to save Anton but he quickly turns to soggy breadcrumbs. Despite the real danger, Coach refuses to help and continues lecturing them. Gumball tries to save Anton but he fails, causing everyone to panic and cry, as Coach rambles on. One of Anton's sneakers floats into a vent in the pool.

The next day on the bus, the boys are astounded to find Anton is fine and alive. Gumball vows to find out how Anton is still alive. After killing him repeatedly in various ways, Darwin suggests spying on his house instead. Gumball & Darwin hide out near Anton's house in disguise, and Gumball at first mistakes Anton for his parents. They see them place a loaf of bread in a toaster and then twist the dial in a certain order. After a few moments, Anton pops out of the toaster. Gumball and Darwin's minds are literally blown.

Back at the Watterson house, Gumball and Darwin attempt to emulate Anton's parents' actions, but mess up and create Ant-One. They bid farewell to Ant-One and throw him into the trash.

Another attempt produces an underdone Ant-Two. After spending more time in the toaster, they finally get a physically identical clone of Anton. However, Ant-Two appears to be incredibly naive, repeating whatever Gumball and Darwin say. Suddenly, the Wattersons' car arrives. The boys panic and try to hide Ant-Two. Gumball orders Darwin to keep an eye on Ant-Two while he thinks of "a clever distraction." However, as Darwin turns around, Ant-Two has disappeared.

At the door, Gumball attempts to divert his family away, but uses the excuse "You left the oven on." This results in the whole family rushing into the kitchen. Nicole finds the oven off, but Richard senses the presence of bread in the kitchen, and how it was burnt. He approaches the trash can, where Ant-One was last seen, but finds nothing when he checks it.

In the boys' bedroom, Gumball finds it strange that the clone is no longer repeating his sentences. He questions Darwin, who attempts to hide the toaster but fails. He has apparently made an Ant-III. They panic over all the possible consequences of their actions, but decide to look for Ant-Two using more clones.

In the forest, Gumball orders his clones to look for Anton using a photo, but the clones attack each other. Darwin appears, explaining that when he told his clones to split up, they took it too literally and created a "pastrycide." After realizing that the army of clones is completely incapable of looking for Ant-Two, the boys decide to hide them while they go to school tomorrow. A voice coming from a nearby bush repeats their sentence, but they do not hear it.

The next morning at Elmore Junior High, Anton is greeted by his classmates, but then tackled by Gumball and Darwin, who confuse him for Ant-Two. Anton asks them about the clone, but they simply go "Uhh..."

At the Watterson house, Richard once again senses the clones and finds them in the shed. He is suddenly attacked from behind by Ant-One, who takes control of the clones.

At school, Gumball and Darwin are still saying "Uhhh..." when Anton loses interest and walks away. Gumball and Darwin see Ant-Two walking down the corridor and attempt to divert Anton away. Gumball once again fails to hinder Anton and instead makes him rush forward, running into his clone. However, he mistakes the clone for a mirror with an echo and leaves. Gumball and Darwin are relieved that Anton will not find out about the clones, but he is still nearby and hears them. He demands Gumball and Darwin to tell him how many clones they made, but they are attacked by Ant-One, who takes out Anton instead of Ant-Two with the fire hose.

Ant-One and his army chase down the boys, but Darwin stays behind to fight them off. He easily fights off a bunch of clones and realizes the army is still completely useless at any task. Ant-One declares the army a failure and breaks them down by pulling the fire alarm, turning on the sprinklers.

At the pool, Ant-One corners Gumball and Ant-Two, stating that he will replace Anton and become Gumball's friend, whom he calls "father." Gumball climbs up the diving board with Ant-Two, explaining that Ant-One is not the original. This drives Ant-One to charge Anton, stating that if he "can't be the one, then no one can." Gumball grabs them both as they dangle off the board. Ant-One, believing that they are too heavy for Gumball, says that he must let them go. Gumball pulls them up easily, but Ant-One scratches Gumball and is dropped into the pool. He sinks to the bottom and is shredded as he is sucked into the drain.

Gumball and Darwin apologize to who they think is Anton, until he repeats their sentence again. The boys gasp at their epiphany as they realize that this is Ant-Two and the original Anton was the one killed by Ant-One.

Anton hearing Gumball talking about the clonings offscreen and mentioning that just because he went offscreen does not mean that he cannot hear Gumball is a reference to how characters in TV shows tend to disappear from the scene completely after moving offscreen.

Continuity

Anton was stepped on by Tina again, the first time was in "The Third."

This is the third time a character dies on screen (Ant-One and the Anton Clones) after "The Picnic" and "The Virus."

Cultural References

The scene where Ant-Two and Ant-One hold on to Gumball on the diving board is a reference to the film The Good Son.

The scene where Richard said "No! I feel a great disturbance in the food chain, as if a thousand sandwiches cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced..." is similar to Star Wars: A New Hope when Ben Kenobi said "I felt a great disturbance in the force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced..."

Another Star Wars reference is when Ant-One states that "It will all be perfect when there's only you, me and mother," similarly to the statement Darth Vader made when he said that the Universe would be perfect if ruled by himself and Luke Skywalker.

And again, Ant-One falling off the diving board may reference Luke Skywalker falling in the 'Duel on Cloud City'.

Because of the sudden change in music and the way Ant-One fell, this can also be seen as a reference to the film Die Hard.

When all the Antons were killed by the water in the hallway one of them says "I'm melting!" which is a reference to The Wizard of Oz when the Wicked Witch of the West said the same thing when she was melting after being drenched in water, a great weakness of hers.

When Anton opens up the screamer video, the scream heard is that from the K-Fee commercials. In these videos, there is a calm setup, but then a Gargoyle or Zombie appears in front of the camera all of a sudden and screams. Text then appears, saying "So wach warst du noch nie." (Translated: "You've never been so awake") and ends with a shot of a K-fee can vibrating like a beating heart. A similar thing happened to Gumball in "The Internet."

Goofs/Errors

The episode was rated TV-Y7 instead of TV-Y7-FV in some reruns.

When Nicole, Richard, and Anais rush to the kitchen, only Nicole and Richard were in the kitchen, and Anais is nowhere to be seen.

When Gumball puts a piece of bread (the burnt one) into the toaster, he flips it in when it was already upright.

Gumball mentions that it is the first time they violated the laws of nature but this is not true, as they created Kenneth.

Juke is in swimming class even though he cannot swim, as shown in "The Boombox."

When Richard finds the Anton clones in the shed, the Robinsons' house is not seen.

When Anton opens up the ad that was actually a screamer, the scream should not have been heard until about 20 seconds later.

[He cries out in sorrow. The other students start crying for Anton. In the water, one of Anton's shoes floats]

Still Alive

[In the school bus (the next day), Anton is shown reading a book. Gumball looks at him, incredulously]

Gumball: How is this possible? Am I the only one around here amazed that he’s still alive?!

Darwin: He must have a very good immune system.

Gumball: Dude, he was gone!

Darwin: [Shrugs]

Gumball: You know when you’re born, right? Well, he did that, but in reverse.

Darwin: Ew! Who would want to go back to the cabbage patch with all that dirt and slugs and stuff?

Gumball: No dude. He came back to life, and I’m gonna find out how!

[At school, the bell rings. There's a montage of Anton dying over and over again, including having a heart attack, being eaten alive by Tobias, and exploding spontaneously. After being eaten alive by a flock of birds, Gumball and Darwin walk over to his crumbs]

Darwin: Maybe we should just ask him.

Gumball: Uh, maybe you should’ve said that before we iced him fifty times in a row. Let’s go to his house. I need to find out how this works.

[He takes Gumball's Eyes, and uses them as binoculars. Gumball grows new eyes. Anton's Parents twist the knobs until the first knob is diagonal, toast a slice of bread, and a new Anton pops out of the toaster]

Anton: Hi, mom! Hi, dad!

[Gumball and Darwin are amazed, and they are so shocked that their heads explode and their brains fly out]

[Scene cuts back at their house. They are at the kitchen with a toaster]

Gumball: That completely blew my mind! I mean, how does that even work?!

Darwin: There has to be some kind of trick.

Gumball: We have to do exactly what they did!

Darwin: Does that mean I have to wear a mustache and we should, you know...kiss?

Gumball: No. And for the record, I would be the one wearing the mustache.

Darwin: They did something with the dial before Anton came out. [Gumball twists dial as he speaks] I think it was one left, one right, and then four and a half.

[The toaster dings, and a burnt Anton pops out. He looks dead]

Gumball: I think this one is a bit burnt.

Darwin: He deserves a righteous farewell.

Gumball and Darwin: Bye! [They throw the burnt Anton in the trash can]

Gumball: I think we should try three, and a half.

[They twist the dial, and toast another slice. Another Anton pops up]

Gumball and Darwin: Yay!

Ant-Two: [Moves deliriously]

Gumball: Maybe he’s still a bit underdone.

[They toast him again. A perfect replica of Anton comes out]

Gumball and Darwin: Yay! We made Anton!

Darwin: What shall we call him?

Gumball: Hmm. Ant-Two?

Ant-Two: Ant-Two!

Gumball: [Laughs] Amazing! We made a living, breathing clone of our friend!

Darwin: Yeah!

Darwin: After spying on him!

Ant-Two: Spying on him!

Darwin: And now there are two of him! It throws out all sorts of moral issues way beyond our comprehension!

Ant-Two: Moral issues!

Gumball and Darwin: [Laugh]

Darwin: [Scared] Then why do I feel so bad about it?

Gumball: Oh. It’s because we violated the laws of nature, as well as the laws of mankind, without any regard for our friend’s feelings!

Darwin: Huh. [Cheerily] Oh yeah. That’s why.

[They hear the rest of their family arrive. They start unpacking the car]

Gumball and Darwin: What have we done?!

Gumball: We’ve sunk pretty low before, but this has got to be the first time we’ve violated the laws of nature!

Darwin: What do we do with him?!

Gumball: You keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t go anywhere! We’ve got to keep him out of the kitchen! I’ll think of a clever distraction. [Moves to run off]

Ant-Two: Clever distraction!

Gumball: [Stops] He’s still half-baked, isn’t he? [Runs off]

Darwin: Okay, buddy, let’s get-uh-

[Ant II is gone. Gumball runs to the porch, and stands at the entrance]

Gumball: Mom, dad, wait!

Nicole: What’s wrong?!

Gumball: Uh, y-y-you left the oven on!

Nicole: What?!

[She and the others run through the door, and to the kitchen. Gumball sighs]

Gumball: Wait!

Nicole: What are you talking about? The oven isn’t on.

Richard: There was food here! [He starts sniffing the air] I see the sun shining on wheat swaying gently in the breeze. [He starts moving around the kitchen] I see fresh spring water babbling in a brook. The yeast raises the bread, lifts it high! A slice white and fresh as milk. But wait, what are you doing? It’s too hot! It’s burning! No, it burns! Agh! You’ve ruined the toast! [He sniffs a scent from the trash can, and follows it. Beads of sweat form on Gumball's head] It’s here! I can still eat it! [He opens the trash can, only to find it empty] Eh, never mind.

Gumball and Darwin's Room

[Gumball enters his room, and sighs in relief]

Gumball: That was close. [Looks at what he thinks is Ant-Two] Why isn’t he repeating anymore? What is wrong with you?

Ant-Three: [Scoffs] What’s wrong with you?

Gumball: Hmm. I can’t tell if he’s repeating, or being sarcastic… [Suspiciously] What are you hiding?!

Darwin: [With arms behind back] Uh, nothing.

Gumball: Show me your hands.

Darwin: [Shows left fin]

Gumball: The other one.

Darwin: [Shows right fin while withdrawing his left]

Gumball: Come on, show me both hands!

Darwin: [Shows both fins while contorting his head/body, until a toaster falls out from behind him. He whimpers]

Gumball: You made an Ant-Three?!

Darwin: I had to! I turned around, and Ant-Two was gone! [Cries] And I knew you would be angry at me and you would do the angry mouth, and I would cry!

Gumball: Okay, this is bad, but it could get way worse. I mean, what if he bumps into the real Anton?

Darwin: Do you think we’re gonna get towed (told) off?

Gumball: No, dude. We could get hunted down by the FBI, or tried for crimes against humanity. Or even worse!

Darwin: Even worse?!

Gumball: Yeah. Actually, I started a little too high.

Gumball: Being tried for crimes against humanity is about as bad as it gets.

Darwin: Ah. Good!

Gumball: Dude, that’s still the worst it can get.

Darwin: Aw. [Whimpers]

Gumball: Okay, we need to cover as much of the neighbor as we can.

Darwin: But we can’t ask for help.

Gumball: And we obviously can’t be everywhere at the same time.

[They look at the toaster]

Clone Army

[The Park, nighttime. Gumball speaks to an army of Antons]

Gumball: All right, dudes! This is our target! [Holds up a picture of Anton] If you see him, just pin him down! Okay, ready, steady, go!

[The clones see each other, and start mauling each other. Darwin walks to him]

Gumball: What have you done with your Antons? Did you lose them all again?

Darwin: No. Well, there was a bit of an accident. I told them to split up to cover more ground.

Gumball: So?

Darwin: I think they might’ve taken it too literally.

[A shadowed image of what looks like the clones massacring each other shows up in Darwin's eyes]

Darwin: It was pastrycide!

Gumball: Don’t beat yourself up. There guys are so sweet and obedient that if I told them, “go jump in a lake”, [The clones start jumping into the lake] they wouldn’t even think twice before they- oh, stop! The mission is aborted! We’re going back home!

Antons: [Walk off] Aw!

Gumball: We’re gonna need a place to hide them when we go to school tomorrow.

Antons: [Behind bush] School tomorrow!

School Tomorrow

[The bell rings. Anton walks happily across the school hallway]

Carmen: Hello!

Anton: Hello!

Teri: Oh, hi!

Anton: Oh, hi!

Clayton: Hey!

Anton: Hey!

Gumball: [Tackles Anton] Gotcha! You’re coming with me, Ant-Two!

Anton: Ant who?

Gumball: Aha! I told you he was the clone!

Anton: What clone?

Gumball and Darwin: Uhhhh…

[At the Watterson's house, Richard is fast asleep. Then he wakes up, troubled]

Gumball: I don’t know, something like- [Gurgling][Turns to "Anton"] Look man, I’m so sorry for what we’ve done. We played with life and didn’t think of the consequences. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us and we can still be friends.